Prior to 2021 1factory has offered part masters to select enterprise customers to help manage parts and assemblies, as well as enforce strict data entry in regards to creating new plans, NCRs, and inspections within 1factory. Doing so helps limit duplicate entries, and increases part traceability.
In preparation for many new features coming later in 2021 (including an API to connect to ERP and PLM systems), we are adding a Part Master Table to all customer accounts.
As you may know from your experience with an ERP system, a Part Master table simplifies Part Data management. this is the first step towards improved Part Data Management.
Former 1factory Workflow- Without Part Master:
In the former workflow, you entered a Part Number and Revision to create a QC Plan. Then you typed in the Part Description after the Plan has been created. If you created an NCR for the same part (+ New NCR), you would then have to type in the Part Description again. The system didn't remember the part description from the QC Plan.
In fact, each time you created an NCR or CAPA or SCAR, you would have to type in the part description again. This resulted in multiple Part Descriptions being entered for the same part.
Here's an example with three different descriptions for the same part:
| Object | Part Number | Rev | Description | 1factory Notes | |
| QC Plan | 12-123456 | 1 | Cylinder, Reverse Armature Winding | We treat this as the primary description. It will replace all descriptions that follow | |
| NCR | 12-123456 | 1 | Cylinder Winding | Incomplete description entered | |
| NCR | 12-123456 | 1 | No description entered |
New Design - With Part Master:
In the new design, each QC Plan and NCR (and all other objects) will be associated with a Part Master. All Part information including Part Description, Unit of Measure, and Cost will be read from the Part Master Table. You can also easily see how many plans and inspections are associated with each part:
You can always edit the Part Description in the Part Master tab manually or via an excel import (see below). Editing in the Part Master tab will update all associated record: NCRS, CAPAs, Plans, Inspections etc.
New Setting:
Going forward, you have two options for how your organization enters new Part Masters.
Setting - Part Masters Created on the Fly:
1. [YES] You can continue to work as you work today. Part Masters are automatically created when you create the first QC Plan or NCR for a Part.
OR
2. [NO] All new Parts will need to be added first to the Part Master table before they can be used in Plans or NCRs. You can add parts manually, or upload all your Part Master data (via excel upload) to the Part Master table.
Excel Upload:
The excel upload is available in the sidebar on each part master page and serves two purposes:
1. Uploading new part masters (Part Number, Revision, Description, Unit of Measure, Standard Cost)
2. Updating the description of a Part: If the Part Number and Rev exist in the Part Master table, 1factory will replace the existing part description with the description loaded into the excel file.
(Excel import template is attached at the bottom of this help page)
How to Create New Part Masters
If you have the "on the fly" setting set to [NO], you MUST add every new Part Number & Revision to the Part Master table (instead of beginning with a QC Plan or an NCR).
To Add a Part to the Part Master table:
- Click on + New Part
- Enter the Part Number & Revision (Part Number and Revision combination must be unique)
- Click "GO"
This will take you to the part master page for the part you are creating. Enter the Part Description and other properties in the header, as well as the units, cost, and any other notes you would like to include. Make sure you click "save".
Once a Part Master has been created, you can then navigate over to the QC Plan page, add a new plan, then select the Part Number & Rev to create a QC Plan or to create NCRs, CAPAs, and SCARs.
The following information may be optionally added to the Part Master:
- To enable the Bill of Material feature-set and future traveler capability, you will need to create single-level Bills of Materials by adding components. This can be achieved by either importing an excel file, or by adding components manually. Note: Before you can associate a component to it's parent, you must create the component in 1factory. (i.e. you must the steps above for every parent and every component before you can connect them with a BoM)
- To enable Traceability, we recommend filling out the other properties.
- Unit of Measure e.g. Each
- Cost e.g. $1400
- Traceability: Select from: None, Batch Number, and Batch & Serial Number
Once your part master is filled out and saved, you will see it in your list of all part masters. It will also appear in the drop-down menus as you create new QC plans, NCRs, and other objects within 1factory.
If you have any questions about part masters and how they affect your current workflow in 1factory, please reach out to us at support@1factory.com.